Iceland tested a 4-day workweek. Employees were productive -- and happier, researchers say.

[brooklynite]

Washington Post

Several large-scale trials of a four-day workweek in Iceland were an “overwhelming success,” with many workers shifting to shorter hours without affecting their productivity, and in some cases improving it, in what researchers called “groundbreaking evidence for the efficacy of working time reduction.”

Some of the trials’ key findings showed that a shorter week translated into increased well-being of employees among a range of indicators, from stress and burnout to health and work-life balance. These issues have become more pressing as reports of burnout among employees around the world have risen following more than a year of pandemic-related stress and deteriorated mental health.

The trials were conducted between 2015 and 2019, initiated by the Reykjavik City Council and the Icelandic national government in response to demands from trade unions and civil society organizations for shorter workweeks.


The trials ultimately involved 2,500 workers, more than 1 percent of the nation’s working population, who moved from working 40 hours a week to a 35- or 36-hour week, without a reduction in pay.

[PoliticAverse]

1. They needed to do a study to find out having to work less hours for the same amount of money...

makes one happier?

[Phoenix61]

2. They needed to do a study to see what happened to productivity.nt

[Ferryboat]

3. I work 4 10 hour days

Hell yeah! Less stress,3 day weekend. No co workers calling out sick because they need a day off.

[Scrivener7]

4. And in most of my jobs I did a 10 hour day anyway. The 4 day week sounds like a slam dunk.